Street Fame (15 page)

Her biggest challenge, she knew, would be getting off the X. It had her and she craved it. It just made her feel absolutely amazing. It had been sixteen hours since her last pill, and she wanted to go at least a day. She lay in her bed with no entertainment. The cable wouldn’t be on until Monday, and the stereo system she had ordered wouldn’t arrive until next week.

An hour passed before she decided she needed a pill. It had been seventeen hours and four minutes. She opened her drawer and pulled out the aluminum foil packet. There were six butterflies and one Mercedes. She contemplated then decided she would throw the pills away. The Mercedes pill was the first one to be flushed. This was easy because they weren’t the best. She threw five butterflies down the toilet but couldn’t bring herself to flush the last one. She swallowed the pill and an hour later she was lying on her bed naked with a vibrator and a glass of vodka and cranberry juice. She worked herself over with the vibrator. Then she called Agent Pratt.

He picked his cell phone up on the second ring. “Hi.” “Hey, sexy! I need some company.”
“What do you mean you
need some company
?”
“I left him.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Cut the talking. Just come see me. I live downtown at the Cotton

Mill lofts. Come see me. I’m horny.”
Mark Pratt held the phone but didn’t say anything.
“Pratt … are you there?”
“Yes. Yes.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“What? You don’t like pussy?”
“Come on. Don’t ask me questions like that.”
“Just come over. I want you to see my new place.”
“I can’t.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about, you
can’t
? First you

tell me to leave him, and now you can’t come see me? What kind of shit is this?”

Mark Pratt sighed as if he were thinking. Finally he said, “I’m on my way but I can’t stay long.”
“Hey, I didn’t say you had to stay long; I just wanted to see you.”

Chapter 21

J
ennifer greeted Mark at the door, naked. She extended her arms as if she wanted a hug.
He walked around her.
She closed the door then frowned. “What’s wrong, officer?”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he examined her place. An expensive apartment with very high ceilings. He walked over to the window and looked out into the city.
Excellent view of the skyline
, he thought. Then he examined the furniture. Italian leather. “So, I see you’re still living the good life.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. It’s just that if you’re serious about getting away from that lifestyle, you’re going to have to change your thinking.”
She walked toward him slow and seductively. “So I guess you want me to live in a shack.”
His eyes briefly focused on her breasts then her vagina. He said a silent prayer, asking God for strength. “No, I didn’t say that. But I thought you would have tried to budget your money so you can stop dancing.”
“I did. I paid my rent up for a year, and I paid for my furniture, and I enrolled in community college ...”
Mark smiled. “Smart girl.”
She grabbed his penis print.
“Stop it.”
She unzipped his pants.
He tried to pull away from her, but she had already slid his penis out, and seconds later her mouth had covered it.

*****

Twin made his way to the Uptown Carousel and found Morgan. They walked to the back of the club and sat in a booth.
“What the fuck is going on with your girl?”
“I don’t know. What are you talking about?”
“I want to know where the fuck she at, and where the fuck my

money’s at?”
Morgan looked shocked. “Jennifer ran off with your money?” “Hell yeah. And the bitch is going to pay when I find out where

she at. I ain’t playing. I will fuck her up.”

Morgan shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know where she’s at. I’ll tell her when I see her that you’re looking for her, but she hasn’t been at the club in a day or so.”

“I don’t know what made her just up and leave like this. Did you have any idea that she was going to leave me?”
“No! She never said anything to me; I mean, never! I think Jennifer will be back.”
“Well, I hope so 'cause she took eighteen grand from me, and that’s enough for me to hurt a muthafucka. You know what I mean?”
“Hell yeah.”
“Hey, listen. If you can find her and let me know where she’s at, I’ll give you a little reward.”
Morgan smiled. “What did you have in mind?”
“A hundred dollars.”
“I don’t need money. I need some pills. Give me ten butterflies and I’ll find her for you; I promise.”
Twin looked at Morgan, disgusted. She was nothing but an X head, just like Jennifer. Someone he should have never involved himself with. “Okay, Morgan. If you find her I’ll give you some pills.”

*****

 

“What the hell is that on your neck?” Ken asked.

“What are you talking about?” Mark pretended to study papers on his desk.
“There’s a mark on your neck. You must have slept with a vampire last night or… let me guess … the stripper-slash-informant that I warned you about.”
Mark pulled his collar up, trying to cover the mark. He couldn’t believe he had let the woman bite his neck. He couldn’t believe he had been exposed. He wanted to lie to Ken.
“The stripper got to you, huh?”
Mark made eye contact with Ken. “Shut up, man; will ya?”
“Hey don’t get on my case. You need to talk to your little vampire woman. She’s the one that bit your neck.”
Mark rose from his desk. “I think I’m going to get out of here before I hurt you.”
“Hurt me? I’m just trying to help you, man. I don’t want you to be involved with a chick like that. You don’t need her, man.”
“I don’t need your help. I don’t need anything from you.”
“This chick is going to bring you down. She’s going to cause you to lose your job.”
Mark opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
Ken followed. “So do you love her, Mark?”
“What are you talking about?
“Do you love Jennifer?”
Mark turned and faced him. “I don’t know,” he said, almost inaudibly.

*****

Jennifer opened the door wearing a sequined dress that clung to her geometry. She met Mark with a kiss and immediately unbuttoned his shirt. He pulled away from her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I think I’m falling for you.”
“And you’re saying that like it’s a bad thing.”
He sat down on her sofa. “I told you from the start that I didn’t

think it was a good idea that we be sleeping around together.”

She walked across the room. “You’re the one that came to the club. You’re the one that sought me out, Mr. DEA. What was I? Some kind of sick fantasy of yours, and now that you’ve fucked me the fantasy no longer arouses you? Huh?”

“No.”
“What is it then? Why can’t I have you? Why can’t we be together?” Mark sighed. “I don’t know. I just don’t think it’s a good idea.” “What happened to all of this shit you were saying … that you

were going to help me, and that I needed to get away from the lifestyle? What happened to that shit?”

 

He stood and faced her. He looked at her breasts. Her waist was so damn tiny. He thought about the sex they’d had last night, and an erection was on the way.

 

“So, I guess now that I left Twin, I’m on my own.”

Mark looked away. He didn’t want to be tempted by her. He had to get his mind focused. “Yes. You have to take care of yourself.”
“I don’t understand this shit, man. Last night you come over and we make passionate love, and now you leave me.”
“I’m not leaving you. I’m going to be there for you. But not… sexually.”
“I’m not good enough for you, huh?”
“No. I didn’t say that.”
“You don’t have to say that. I know what you mean.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Before he realized it, he was holding her.
She looked up at him then jerked away.
“Jennifer, it’s not like that.”
“You know what, Agent Pratt? I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. How about you just get the hell out of my house, please.”
Mark walked to the door and let himself out.

*****

Tommy found him a nice apartment but spent most of his nights with Alicia. He had convinced himself that he wasn’t going back to Nia and that they weren’t meant for each other. He had started out spending the night, bringing a change of clothes. Now all of his things were in her extra closet. He would move all his things into his place by the end of the month because he could feel her getting attached, and he needed his space. He had just got out of the shower and was putting on his clothes, about to go deliver some butterflies on the west side of town.

She stopped him and asked, “Are we going to spend the day together?”
“I got to handle some business, baby,” he said then kissed her on her cheek.
“Tommy, you’re always in the streets.”
“What are you talking about? I was with you yesterday, remember? We went to the park together and went to dinner.”
“But that’s not enough, one dinner; I want to be with you more.”
Tommy sighed. Alicia was starting to sound a lot like Nia, with all the bitching and complaining, but actually he hadn’t been around lately because the pills had become big business for him. Never was he required to work so hard in the streets—not even for coke. “I tell you what. Let’s take a trip to San Fran to see your dad,” Tommy said.
She smiled then gave him a hug

*****

At JoJo’s apartment, Twin, JoJo, and Tommy planned another trip to Miami.
“I still haven’t found that bitch with my eighteen G’s. It’s been two weeks.”
“You may as well get over it. You ain’t going to get your money back,” JoJo said.
“I wouldn’t want it back. You should just be glad the bitch is out of your life,” Tommy said.
“Yeah, I think your girl is bad news.”
“Why do you say that?” Twin quizzed.
“She took your money, nigga. What else do you we need to say?”
“She wasn’t all bad,” Twin said.
“What was good about her?” Tommy asked.
“The fact that her and her friend was willing to bring our shit back from Miami.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Tommy said.
“So who’s going to bring it back now that we don’t have her?” JoJo asked.
Tommy thought long and hard. He would have volunteered, but he knew he was down to the last two trips. He would be a millionaire. He would have the money needed to invest in real estate, and he just couldn’t chance it. “I don’t know,” Tommy finally said.
“Okay … you can still use Jennifer’s friend.”
“Yeah. She still needs money. You know how those strippers go through money,” Twin said. He picked his cell phone up and dialed her number.
“Hello,” Morgan said.
“Hello,” Twin said. “Hey—just wanted to know if you wanted to go to Miami with us.”
“To make some money, I hope.”
“Yeah. Of course. That’s what I called you for.”
“Cool, because I just bought a new motorcycle, and the insurance is kicking my ass.”
“So have you heard from my girl?”
Morgan didn’t say anything.
“So have you seen Jennifer?”
“Yeah, Twin, I’ve seen her.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I thought we had an agreement?”
“Yeah, we did, but she made me promise not to tell you. I think she’s ready to come back home.”
“Is she really?”
“Things just ain’t working out for her. I mean, she has this fabulous apartment downtown, but she just ain’t happy,”
“So who’s the new man?”
“There ain’t no new man.”
“Why did she leave?”
“I don’t know, Twin. I guess you wasn’t giving her the attention she needed.”
“I gave that bitch everything—diamonds, minks, new cars and shit; and the bitch still wasn’t happy.”
“Money don’t make everybody happy.”
“It sure as hell makes me happy.”
“So when are we leaving for Miami?”
“In the morning.”
“Cool. I’ll get packed.”
“Morgan, you still haven’t told me where Jennifer’s living.”
“She lives downtown at the Cotton Mill lofts, number 2131. Please don’t tell her that I told you where she’s living.”
“Thank you, Morgan. Goodbye.” Twin terminated the call.
“So is Morgan going to help us?” Tommy asked.
“Yeah, but I got better news than that,” Twin said.
“Tell us what’s going on?” JoJo said.
“Morgan just told me where Jennifer is.”
“What the fuck are you waiting on then. You need to go to her house and demand your money,” Tommy said.
“I know. I’d already be at her fucking door,” JoJo said.
Twin stood. “I’m on my way over there now.”
“Okay, don’t go over there and get your ass locked up.” JoJo said.
“Listen. We got to be smart, man. You can’t go over there and fuck her up over eighteen thousand dollars and bring the heat on us,” Tommy said.
“Fuck. The heat is already on us,” Twin said. “You remember, this is the bitch that told us the heat was on us.”
“But she knows too much is all I’m saying.”
“I feel you,” Twin said.

Chapter 22

J
ennifer screamed when she stepped out into the hallway. Twin grabbed her wrist. He pushed her back into her loft then covered her mouth. “Shut the fuck up, bitch. I hope you didn’t think you would get away with my money, did you?”
“What are you talking about?”
Twin looked around. The loft had very nice hardwood floors. New furniture, a plasma television set, and expensive sculptures. “Where the fuck all this shit come from?”
“I paid for everything in here,” Jennifer said.
“Better not have been with my money.”
“I have my own money.”
“Well why in the fuck did you take mine?”
She tried to jerk away from him, but he slung her to the floor.
“Where is my money, Jennifer?”
“You owe me that money.”
Twin kicked her in the ribs. “I don’t owe you a goddamn thing.”
Jennifer held her side then tears came down her face.
Twin kicked her again. “White trash. I will kill your ass, you understand me? When I met your ass you didn’t have shit. I gave you the world.”
Jennifer stood and faced him. “Muthafucka, you didn’t love me. You ever thought about that?”
“How can you say that, Jennifer?”
“All I was to you was your little white show piece. You didn’t give a damn about me because if you did, I wouldn’t be dancing in the club. A real man wouldn’t let his woman dance in the club. And don’t say you don’t have the money. I’ve helped you count hundreds of thousands of dollars, often wondering when you would take me out of the clubs.”
“I thought you liked earning your own money.”
“I do like that, but I don’t like men lusting for me night after night, asking me if I will fuck them for five hundred dollars, or will I suck their stinking dicks for a thousand dollars. It’s disgusting and demeaning.”
“That’s the life you chose to lead.”
“But you supposed to be my man. How can you let me live like that? And you making all that damn money... ” she said, her mascara leaving a black streak on her face.
“You never said nothing to me about not liking the club.”
“Do you like dealing drugs?”
Twin thought for a moment. Though he didn’t have any complaints about the benefits, he would rather not do it. Only a fool would want to deal drugs. He didn’t answer her.
“So, I take it you don’t like dealing,” Jennifer said. She sat on the arm of her chair.
Twin turned his back to her. “But this still don’t excuse you for taking my shit, Jennifer. You had no fuckin right.”
“You’re right, Twin, but your money is gone. I don’t have it anymore, and there’s nothing I can do to bring your money back.”
“That’s fucked up!”
She walked up to him and put her arms around his waist. “Twin, you know I love you. I’ve loved you since the first day I saw you, but I don’t know what got into me. I guess I got sick of it all.”
He turned then stared her in her eyes.
“I miss you.”
He pulled away from her. “I don’t know if I can forgive you for this one, Jennifer. I mean, I trusted your ass.”
“Okay, I took eighteen thousand dollars, but I been with your ass for four years. I’ve counted thousands of dollars and took thousands of dollars to my mother’s house for you, and I’ve never stole a red cent.”
“And that’s what’s fucked up about the whole situation. I thought you were loyal.”
Jennifer threw her arms up in disgust. “Well I can’t bring the money back, Twin. What do you want me to do?”
He stared her in her eyes. “I need you to make a run for me. I need you to go to Miami with me to get more X—you and Morgan.”
Jennifer sighed. “I don’t want to go to Miami; I really don’t. But if it’s going to make everything okay, I’ll go on this one last trip.”
“Cool.”
“When are we going?” “Soon.”